The present invention relates generally to data collection from utility meters, and more particularly to data collection from meters over an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) refers to systems that measure, collect and analyze energy usage, and interact with advanced devices such as electricity meters, gas meters, heat meters, and water meters, through various communication media either on request (on-demand) or on pre-defined schedules. This infrastructure includes hardware, software, communications, consumer energy displays and controllers, customer associated systems, Meter Data Management (MDM) software, supplier and network distribution business systems, etc.
The network between the measurement devices and business systems allows collection and distribution of information to customers, suppliers, utility companies and service providers. This enables these businesses to either participate in, or provide, demand response solutions, products and services.